Progress of the yankee Revolution covers the interval from the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766 to the outbreak of hostilities at Lexington and harmony in 1775. Taken jointly, those volumes current a cogent and authoritative historical past from an goal and scholarly viewpoint. Key good points: Foreword, acknowledgments, creation, notes, appendixes, chronology, bibliography, index.

Without knowing how close they were to 2d Bn’s position, the militiamen of the 339th Bn from Matanzas halted and began setting up their mortars under the gunsights of the brigadistas. Oliva’s force opened fire on the unsuspecting militiamen with every weapon they had, including recoilless rifles and the tanks’ 76mm guns, and reduced the column of trucks to flaming hulks. 50cal ammo they released their bombs and rockets upon the remaining vehicles. ” From the prisoners they took the brigadistas learned that Castro was massing his forces at Central Australia, and there was a possibility of a major attack that night; Oliva had his men prepare defensive positions astride the main road and railroad bed.

However, these figures are for Cuban Army losses only, and do not include militiamen or armed civilian loyalists. The most widely accepted estimates put the total number of militiamen killed, wounded and missing while fighting for the Republic at around 2,000 (some believe as many as 5,000). The known casualties for the Brigade were 104 members killed, and several hundred more wounded. AFTERMATH For weeks following the battle the remnants of the Brigade were hunted down and captured, or managed to escape from Cuba by one way or another.

The American advisors were authorized to fill in for them by CIA officials without the knowledge of President Kennedy (who was not to find out for two years that four American flyers had been shot down and killed in the Bay of Pigs operation). Six B-26B sorties were flown in mid-afternoon of the 18th, attacking a long column of vehicles and tanks approaching Girón from Playa Larga; the air strike stopped the column dead, inflicting 1,800 casualties and knocking out seven tanks – as well as bombs and rockets, the Invaders delivered napalm for the first time during the operation.